Wright leads streaking Mets to doubleheader sweep

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NEW YORK(AP) -- Johan Santana and the Mets have been pitching well
for weeks. Now, the big bats are beginning to come around. And
all of a sudden, after a sluggish start, New York looks like a
legitimate threat in the NL East again.

David Wright drove in four runs, Ike Davis added three RBIs and
the streaking Mets won their sixth straight game, beating the
Los Angeles Dodgers 10-5 on Tuesday night for a doubleheader
sweep.

"We're playing with a lot of confidence right now," Jeff
Francoeur said.

In the opener, Jason Bay hit his first home run for New York to
back another stingy outing by Santana as the Mets marched to a
4-0 victory in a virtually empty stadium.

More fans showed for the originally scheduled nightcap and
watched as 35-year-old rookie reliever Hisanori Takahashi (2-1)
bailed out a Mets starter for the second time in five days.
Wright hit a bases-loaded triple, Davis had a two-run double and
New York (12-9) set a season high for runs while improving to
8-1 on its 10-game homestand.

The surge has coincided with the arrival of Davis, a rookie
first baseman who was called up from the minors on April 19. He
helped the Mets earn their first doubleheader sweep of the
Dodgers since Aug. 28, 1971, at Shea Stadium.

"I knew once some of those middle-of-the-order guys hit, it
could be a lot of fun," manager Jerry Manuel said.

In the nightcap, New York opened a 3-0 lead against
knuckleballer Charlie Haeger (0-3) in the first inning on an RBI
single by Jose Reyes, a run-scoring triple by Bay and Davis'
sacrifice fly.

Another walk-filled meltdown by winless left-hander Oliver Perez
helped the Dodgers tie it in the fourth, but that's when Manuel
turned to Takahashi.

The left-hander from Japan forced home the tying run with a
two-out walk to Reed Johnson, then struck out James Loney on a
borderline 3-2 pitch, prompting a vehement argument from Loney
that got him ejected by plate umpire Angel Campos.

"I think it was unnecessary. I think it was unfortunate on the
umpire's part, not James' part," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.

Takahashi hung around and tossed 3 1-3 strong innings, allowing
one run and striking out five for his latest big effort in long
relief.

A non-roster invite to spring training, he fanned seven in three
impressive innings Friday night against Atlanta for his first
major league win. Takahashi entered that game as a replacement
for John Maine, who came out early with pain in his non-pitching
arm.

"He's making a strong case for himself to be a part of the
rotation if we continue to have issues," Manuel said.

Wright, who began the day in a 7-for-42 slump (.167), punched an
RBI single to right-center in the fifth for his 1,000th career
hit, snapping a 3-all tie.

"I'm glad I could finally contribute to a win," he said.

Davis followed with a two-run double, and Wright made it 10-3 in
the sixth with his triple off George Sherrill moments after a
key throwing error by shortstop Jamey Carroll.

"You walk four guys in four-plus innings, you're going to get
hurt," Haeger said. "They grabbed the momentum there in the
fifth inning when I walked two."

Wright finished 3 for 3 with a walk in the nightcap.

"Line drives up the middle," Manuel said. "He's close to heating
up."

Santana (3-1) worked his way around early traffic on the bases,
tossing six innings of four-hit ball to extend a run of splendid
performances by the Mets' surprising rotation.

Luis Castillo hit a two-run single and New York pitched its
second consecutive shutout, following Mike Pelfrey's 1-0 win
Sunday night over Atlanta in a game that was called in the sixth
inning because of rain.

"Everybody feels very motivated, and it's good to see," Santana
said.

More wet weather Monday night led to Tuesday's old-fashioned,
single-admission, twinight doubleheader - but few fans made it
to blustery Citi Field in time for the first pitch at 4:10 p.m.

There were still sections of empty seats down low by the time
Wright dived headfirst to score on a second-inning wild pitch by
Hiroki Kuroda (2-1).

More fans began filing in as the night wore on, but the sparse
crowd never approached the announced attendance of 32,012.

"At some point it felt like we were down in Port St. Lucie
playing a spring training game," Santana said between games.
"But we knew it was a very meaningful game for us. And then as
the game was going we got more into it."

Including a 1-0 loss Sunday at Washington, Los Angeles was
blanked in consecutive games for the first time since June 2008
at San Diego and Detroit.

Missing injured slugger Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers have lost
five of six.

"We have to pitch better. We have to play better. It's as simple
as that," Torre said. "We need to get better and we need to win
three or four in a row to get that inner-confidence back."

NOTES: After the doubleheader, the Dodgers optioned reliever Jon
Link to Triple-A Albuquerque and transferred C Brad Ausmus to
the 60-day disabled list to make roster room for RHP John Ely,
who was called up from Albuquerque to start Wednesday against
the Mets. ... It was New York's first doubleheader sweep since
June 2007 at Philadelphia. ... Takahashi leads major league
relievers with 21 strikeouts, in 14 1-3 innings.